


Translation Needed

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Actor AU, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, I'll tag them as I go along, Modern Era, Multi, Swearing, more characters & couples to be added later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-10
Updated: 2015-04-17
Packaged: 2018-03-11 13:54:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3328790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi is an actor starring in an American/German film along with Eren who, unfortunately, doesn't speak English. Levi doesn't speak German.</p><p>Featuring Armin being unhelpful, Mikasa forseeing the future, and Eren being a sneaky shit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi meets his co-actor who, unbeknowst to him, plots against him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This work is dedicated to ererifanatic on tumblr.
> 
> I won't translate the German unless it's necessary (i.e. not explained or translated in the actual story). If it's still confusing for you, please tell me and I'll either put the translations at the beginning or at the end.
> 
> What Levi says at the start is a grammatically incorrect "nice to meet you" and Eren responds with "the pleasure's all mine".

Levi impatiently drummed his fingers on the coffee table. The apartment he had been given was nice enough, though it lacked any personality. He appreciated the cleanness of it all (as well as the assurance that no, the previous resident did not have sex anywhere in it) and planned to keep it in this shining state - provided that his co-actor wasn't too much of a slob. Eren Jäger was his name, and they would be starring in a German-English murder mystery. Buddy Cops, but more serious.

Now, it would be relevant to mention that Levi didn't speak a single word of German. Japanese, sure. French, why not. German though... it had a reputation of being a rough, dirty language, one more reserved for people like his manager Erwin Smith. He had a German co-actor now, though, and he'd have to be able to communicate with him, so he'd spent his time on the plane looking through German-English dictionaries. His German was still absolutely horrific, but if he'd at least put in some effort, he figured no one would laugh at him. Hopefully.

After what felt like hours, Levi's phone rang. He picked up and was greeted with a cheerful "hello", only to be overwhelmed with word after word of accented English. The caller informed him, albeit with difficulty, that he and Eren were going to be arriving soon. Apparently they got themselves stuck in some traffic, but they were almost at the apartment. With a sigh, Levi stood up and stretched. He went to the bathroom and briefly checked his appearance to make sure he looked professional rather than bored, before the door opened and he met Eren Jäger.

Eren was younger than him, definitely, but he didn't appear to be immature. It was rather a healthy youthfulness that seemed to surround him. He had an eager smile and eyes that reminded Levi of his friend Isabel, and he knew immediately he'd have to introduce the two.

Levi cleared his throat a bit and shook the hand that Eren held out to him. "Es ist... nett Sie zu kennen... lernen," he managed to bring out in what he knew was crappy German. At least Eren had the decency not to laugh.

"Die Freude ist ganz meinerseits," the brunette replied, and Levi tried not to look too confused.

The short man next to Eren (he was still taller than Levi, much to said actor's dismay) pointed to the suitcase that now stood in the living room. "Eren has the copies of the script in there," he said. His English was better in person than on the phone, though his accent was still obvious. "My name is Armin Arlert, by the way. I'm Eren's manager. Your manager is... here?"

Levi shook his head. "Erwin had some meeting to go to. He left an hour ago or so, I think it was something about the marketing?"

"Right, right." Armin nodded quickly. "I was supposed to be there to, but I wanted to..." He turned his head to Eren. "Wie sagt man 'begleiten' auf Englisch?"

"Ich kann es dir aufschreiben," Eren replied with a small grin that made Levi's eyes narrow. "Ich möchte wissen, wie lange er das hier durchhält. Und ob er weiß, dass ich seine Sprache perfekt sprechen kann."

Armin laughed. "Anyway, I should probably go now... I already missed a lot of the meeting, I think." The blonde shook Levi's hand and said something to Eren before turning on his heel and leaving the apartment.

The door shut and it was just the two of them.

"Können wir uns dutzen?" Eren asked.

Levi blinked.

"Nicht Sie sondern Du," the brunette repeated slowly.

The wheels in Levi's head turned before he understood what had been said. Eren wanted them to speak informally, which the smaller approved of. He nodded quickly, saying, "Ja, das ist gut."

He doubted he'd get used to Eren's loud, wild laugh anytime soon. "Welches Schlafzimmer ist deins?"

 _Schlaf... zimmer... sleep room? Bedroom_. Levi pointed to the door that lead to the bedroom he'd picked out for himself. "Da schlafe ich," he said slowly, hoping he clearly conveyed that that was to be his room, and Eren nodded.

"Gut, dann nehme ich das andere." It sounded approving. "Dein Deutsch ist übrigens nicht so schlecht wie ich dachte."

Levi was sure he'd paralyze his eyelids the way he kept blinking dumbly.

"Dein Deutsch. Nicht schlecht." It was embarrassing as hell to be spoken to this way by someone obviously younger than him. Yes, Eren complimented his German, but the shorter still felt like a small child who didn't understand a subject in school, and he hated it. If Eren couldn't be bothered to learn English, though... his fault. The movie would be bilingual, so Levi had an advantage.

"Danke," he gritted out through closed teeth and half-stomped off to his bedroom.

When he came back out half an hour later, he smelled pizza. Eren sat on one of the stools in the kitchen and ate a piece out of the large box in front of him. He wore a bathrobe that he constantly toyed with with his free hand. When Levi cleared his throat, he looked up. The smile had seemingly never left his lips.

"Was..." Levi searched for the right words to ask about the taste. "Wie schmecken?"

"Wie schmeckt es," Eren corrected.

Nodding, the older man repeated the words.

"Sehr gut. Möchtest du ein Stück? Ich hab einfach Margarita bestellt, damit kann man eher wenig falsch machen."

This kid really needed to stop speaking so much so quickly. Levi's head hurt with all the words, but he understood once Eren held out a slice of the cheese pizza. He sat down across from the younger and began eating slowly. It was greasy as hell, but not bad. Definitely not what he expected his first dinner in Germany to be. In all honesty, Levi didn't know that much about the country. He knew all the stereotypes (beer and sausages), but that was about it. If only Eren spoke English.

"In Deutschland, ist Pizza... oft?"

Eren almost choked on his piece, which Levi replied to by glaring at him until he looked down. "Sorry," he said. It sounded very German, but at least Levi could understand it. Eren continued talking, answering Levi's question about whether or not pizza was something people often ate in Germany (it was). Their conversation continued, although it was very one-sided. Eren talked about food and drinks and going out to eat (mainly about something called "beer gardens"), and Levi didn't understand much but let the younger speak.

When they finally cleaned everything up (Levi was disgusted at how long he had greasy fingers), the older actor's German had improved slightly and Eren had stopped laughing whenever he said something that made no sense.

Levi would never admit it, but the brunette's toothy grin encouraged him to download a couple of apps to help him learn more.

 

When Eren was sure Levi was asleep, he pulled out his phone and called one of his friends in the states. "Hey, Mikasa, you're never gonna believe what happened."

"Does it have something to do with your new co-actor?" the female voice asked.

"Yeah. He thinks I can't speak English, and... well, he can't speak German, but he keeps trying and it's hilarious."

There was a laugh. "You're a dick, Eren."

"You love it."

"I'm not into guys that make their colleagues suffer."

Eren grinned. "He tries really hard. It's kinda cute."

Silence.

"Mikasa?"

"Remember what happened the last time you thought a guy you worked with was cute?"

"I had a crush on him and he made me believe he liked me back but he was actually straight," Eren replied with a groan. "Not every cute guy is gonna break my heart."

"I know, Eren. But you get really whiny when you're sad, and I can't come visit until summer."

"I'll wait until then to fall in love with some guy who's way out of my league," the brunette sang playfully.

"Shut up," Mikasa huffed, but Eren knew she was smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word count: 1354 (I'll improve on that as the story goes along, I hope)
> 
> And yes, what Eren said to Armin was him plotting against Levi.
> 
> If you have suggestions for future characters/couples, please leave a comment or message me on tumblr at not-into-frying-pans. Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi hates read-throughs and Isabel's screaming. Isabel loves Eren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hanji is introduced! Since they're a nonbinary character, I'm referring to them as "they/them".
> 
> Translations for the German are at the end, as requested.

Levi was tempted to throw his cellphone across the room. That would've been unprofessional, though, so he reluctantly picked it up and groaned before the person on the other side had a chance to say hello.

"That's not a very nice way to greet your friend, Levi."

"Hanji what the fuck do you want." He glanced at his alarm clock. 4AM. Fucking time differences.

"Erwin emailed me earlier," the voice said in a far too happy tone. "He told me about your schedule and everything. Did you know you have fight class?"

Levi ran his hand down his face. "Yes, I know. I know my own schedule. I'm not stupid, Hanji."

"How does fight class even work? Like, do you learn how to beat people up?"

"No." Well, there went his sleep. After this, he knew he wouldn't be able to calm down again. "You learn how to not beat people up whilst pretending to beat people up."

"Ah."

"Listen, it's 4AM, I'm tired as fuck, and tomorrow I have to run lines with a German kid who only knows how to say 'sorry' in English."

"You've adjusted to the time already?" Hanji sounded surprised.

"I always adjust to timezones, you know that. The trip to Japan?" It had been an absolute disaster for both of them, and neither wanted to talk much about it, so mentioning it usually ended their conversations.

"Right, right, I'll leave you alone. Text me though, okay? I want to know how everything goes with the cute guy."

Levi hung up.

By the time Eren woke up, Levi'd already read through the script on his coffee table twice and highlighted all of his parts. He smelled like shampoo and his hair was still slightly wet, hitting his cheek when he turned his head to look at the other actor. Eren smiled cheerfully (Levi had no idea why he was so happy so early) and strolled into the kitchen, only to come out a few moments later.

"Wir haben kein Essen."

The older man nodded, agreeing that yes, they didn't have any food. "Wir gehen kaufen?" he asked slowly, remembering the word for shopping from his study sessions yesterday.

Eren nodded and practically skipped to his room. That kid was seriously too enthusiastic for his own good. With a small laugh, Levi shook his head and waited until they could leave.

Germany's winter, as it turned out, was snowy and cold, though Eren told him it was mainly the south of Germany that looked like this. The north was apparently more rainy and gray, if Levi understood correctly. The brunette lead him to a supermarket not too far away, and they spent about two hours trying to find everything, since Levi forced Eren to tell him the name of just about every food in the shop.

Once they were back at the apartment, Eren prepared scrambled eggs. They were a bit too salty for Levi's tastebuds, but not too bad otherwise.

Minutes later, the doorbell rang and Erwin and Armin appeared. Eren immediately began chatting with his manager, using words far too complicated for non-natives to understand, and Erwin wore a shit-eating grin that Levi wanted to punch off his face.

"So, how'd you survive?"

"Barely," the shorter hissed. "I look like a fucking idiot. Why can't he just learn English? It's much easier than all of this shit."

"Relax." Erwin sat down across from his friend. "Hanji told me they called you today."

"You told them to? Erwin, you suck."

"Yet I'm still your manager. By the way, Isabel messaged me."

Immediately, Levi sat up a bit straighter. "How is she? How's Farlan?"

"Farlan's gonna be out of the hospital soon. Both of them said they want to skype with you tonight, but since you're gonna be busy for the next few days, I'm not sure if you'll have the time. Not to mention that they're about seven hours behind."

"I don't need that much sleep, I'll be fine." Levi waved it off, looking up when Armin said his name a few moments later.

The blonde was smiling at him. "We will go and do a read-through of the scripts now. The car is ready for you outside."

"Sounds good." The actor slid off his chair and put on his coat and shoes before following Eren outside. The two of them got in the back of the car, Erwin and Armin in the front. Levi leaned his head against the window when they began driving, half zoned out and half listening to Eren speak.

Farlan and Isabel had been his friends longer than Hanji and Erwin. Both of them were in the states, both of them were in college, but Farlan had gotten into a car accident a few months ago and was still not fully recovered. Levi paid for all the medical procedures, of course, but he still wished he could be there for his friend. Being an actor was his dream and all, but sometimes he wished he could stay in one spot for a while. Levi wasn't too popular, he'd won an award here and there but he mostly kept to himself and his fans mostly respected that. Eren, on the other hand, loved the attention and tweeted about something new every two seconds. Not that Levi had done any research or anything.

Around forty-five minutes later they were seated around a table along with more actors, the director, the producer, and some more important people. Reading the script was the part Levi hated the most. Everyone was new, everything was confusing, he wanted to be able to stand up and act out his character's emotions, but he couldn't. There was nothing he could say, though, so he sat quietly and scowled until it was his turn to speak.

The reading took far too long. That was the main problem with bilingual scripts - no one knew what they were doing or saying.

"It went better than I expected," Erwin said over the phone that night.

Levi rolled his eyes and adjusted his position on the couch. "His accent is horrible and so is mine."

"Both of you will improve, it's fine. Tomorrow you're gonna visit the set and start practicing some scenes, okay? You start filming in two or three days, depending how fast the director wants this to go. Make sure to get enough sleep."

"I'll sleep once I've reached Farlan and Isabel."

There was a sigh on the other end. "Levi."

"Erwin," Levi answered childishly.

"Don't complain about being sleepy tomorrow." With these words of encouragment, Erwin hung up.

"Ist alles in Ordnung?" Eren's voice was quieter than usual as he asked Levi if he was okay.

Levi shrugged and set down the phone. He reached down and pulled his laptop out of his bag, opening it to skype with his friends. Eren still stood leaned against the wall.

"Soll ich gehen?"

"Nein." No, Levi didn't want Eren to leave. His co-actor was a bit of a pain in the ass, but he was nice enough to not send him away. Besides, Levi didn't want to seem like a, to quote Hanji, "rude fucktruck". Whatever that was supposed to mean.

Eren sat down on the armrest and pulled out his phone, starting to text someone. Levi turned on skype. He called Isabel and plugged in his earphones, only to yank them out when she screamed in his ear.

"Jesus, Isabel, don't do that!"

Eren laughed as silently as he could.

"Levi, I missed you!" she yelled in return.

"I can hear you perfectly fine, you don't have to scream my ears off."

"Sorry," she sang. "I'm in the hospital with Farlan, Farlan say hi." Isabel turned the laptop to show her friend laying in the hospital bed. He was smiling, though he still looked bruised.

"Hey, Lev."

"Don't call me that, you idiot." Levi couldn't help but smile. "How's your leg?"

"I can walk again, but it's still kinda difficult." He continued to tell Levi about his weeks in the hospital. How nice the nurses were, how scary the operations were, and how much the hospital food sucked.

Half an hour later, Isabel interrupted him. "Say, Levi, could you introduce us to your co-actor?"

Levi glanced at Eren. "Kannst du..." He pointed to the computer.

Quickly, Eren scootched next to him and smiled widely. "Hallo!"

"Oh my God, you're cute!"

Farlan laughed and Levi glared. "Isabel, can you not."

"Levi, how do you say cute in German?"

"I don't know."

"Aw." Isabel pouted.

"I'm hanging up now, okay? We can talk again some other time, but I need my sleep tonight."

"Sleep well, Levi," Farlan said with a smile.

"You too. Get better." Levi waved and hung up.

"Ich mag sie."

"Sie sind... weird. Seltsam?"

Eren gave him a thumbs-up.

Levi felt a weird sense of satisfaction that the other actor liked his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word count: 1485
> 
> Translations: "Wir haben kein Essen" - "we don't have any food". "Wir gehen kaufen" - incorrect way of asking "will we go shopping". "Ist alles in Ordnung" - "is everything okay". "Soll ich gehen" - "should I go (leave)". "Nein" - "no". "Kannst du" - "can you". "Hallo" - "hello". "Ich mag sie - "I like them". "Sie sind seltsam" - "they are weird".
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter <3 I'll try to update regularly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowds are not Levi's thing, Eren was a psychologist in his last life, and Mikasa knows what's up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There is a panic attack in this chapter, described from first person. It's based on my own experiences. If this triggers you in any way, please don't continue reading. Stay safe. If it triggers you but you still want to know everything that happens in this chapter, leave a comment or message me on tumblr at not-into-frying-pans.tumblr.com/ask and I'll tell you everything. I love you.

The set wasn't as large as Levi had expected. Erwin told him they'd mainly be filming outside, and since the movie would take place at night a lot, they'd sleep during the day. It irritated the black-haired actor that his whole inner clock would be messed up, but he knew he'd adjust to it fairly quickly. After all, timezones were never a problem for him, so why should this be?

Later that evening, Eren led Levi through the streets of Munich. There was some kind of soccer game going on at the moment, so most people were huddled in bars, drinking and eating and cheering or yelling at the TV. It was barbaric, Levi thought, though he had to admit there was a certain charm. Eren's manager Armin had explained that it was part of the German culture to meet up with friends or even strangers and watch the games together. Levi supposed it was like how everyone in the States got super excited whenever there was an American football game or baseball or something.

They sat down in one of the "Biergärten" - the simple fact that it was called "beer garden" made Levi judge it quite harshly - which was not as polished as the older male wanted it to be. He didn't tell Eren about his resentment of anything dirty, not wanting to offend the other, but he figured he'd eventually find out regardless of whether Levi told him or not.

Eren sipped his beer and adjusted his scarf (why the outdoor restaurants were open in Winter, the older would never understand). It looked almost identical to the one Levi's cousin always wore. The shorter decided to point out that he knew someone with the same exact scarf, a statement which was met with wide eyes and one word.

"Mikasa?"

Levi's jaw almost dropped open. "Du kennst sie?"

"Ja."

How the hell did Eren know his cousin? Levi searched for the right words to ask, though it was a lot less effective than if he'd ask in English. He didn't know the German word for "fuck", after all. "Wie?" he eventually asked.

"Sie ist meine beste Freundin. Woher kennst du sie?" Eren set his glass down. His eyebrows were raised, as if he wanted to challenge Levi to a better answer than "she is my best friend".

"Sie ist meine... cousin?"

"Kusine?"

Levi nodded.

"Heilige Scheiße..."

Holy shit indeed. Out of the many things that Levi had expected from his work in Germany, his co-actor being best friends with his cousin was not one of them. He wanted to ask more about how they met, but he didn't have the right words to do so, and he really wasn't up for more embarrasment this evening. Silently, they finished their drinks and walked back home.

The next day brought loads and loads of changing. Levi hated trying on costumes as much as he hated the reading sessions. Stylists he didn't know or understand kept touching him and tugging on his clothes, and all he wanted was to leave. It was starting to get warm in here, too warm, and Levi felt pressure on his chest. His breathing sped up as he frantically looked for an escape, but there was none. Next to him, Eren stood, completely calm and collected.

 _Don't break down_ , Levi mentally told himself. _If the kid can do it, you can do it. Breathe. Breathe. Fucking breathe!_ He was yelling in his head now, as if that could somehow calm him down. The people around him barely even glanced at him, too focused on the clothes on his body to notice his panicked face. He felt like he'd throw up, suffocate, burst into tears, and explode all at the same time. It was hell.

Beads of sweat appeared on Levi's forehead, and when someone shouted something in German, it was over. The actor sunk to his knees, gasping for air as the tears ran down his cheeks. Was he holding his breath? The only thing he heard was his abnormally fast heartbeats. He didn't notice the people around him disappearing. He didn't notice someone closing the door to the changing room. He only noticed something had changed when he felt a hand on his arm and flinched.

Next to him kneeled Eren, beautiful eyes full of concern. If he wasn't panting to the point it made him dizzy, Levi would've felt embarrassed or horrified at being seen like this. Somehow, though... something felt comforting. The room was empty. Levi felt the cool air on his heated skin.

Eren was saying something in a slow, soft voice, so soft that Levi barely heard it at first. "Breathe with me," he repeated over and over again, until he was sure the older actor heard him.

Levi had no time to think about the other's flawless English. Instead, he focused on breathing like Eren did, in and out, in and out, as calm as possible. He felt himself shake, but knew he wouldn't be judged for it.

Minutes later, the attack was over. Eren carefully stood up and returned with a water bottle. Grateful, Levi took it and opened it with some difficulty. A few sips of the cold liquid helped calm him down further, and he slowly began to realize what state the younger had just seen him in.

"I--" he tried to explain, but Eren cut him off and shook his head.

"Ich weiß."

 _But what is it you know?_ Levi wanted to say. _Do you know what this feels like?_ He didn't have time to try and find the German words, as the door opened and Erwin entered. He looked worried, but still professional. He'd dealt with Levi's panic attacks many times before. Once Eren left the room, Erwin helped the black-haired man stand up.

"Eren sent everyone out of the room once he saw what was happening. Are you okay?"

"He did?" Levi's voice was still pathetically small, but in front of Erwin he didn't care.

"Yeah." The tall blonde rested his hands on Levi's shoulders. "I wanted to come in, but Armin told me not to. Apparently Eren has some experience with this."

"I see."

"I talked to the director and the producer and just about everyone else. You can go home and get some rest, if you want."

"Thanks, Smith." Levi managed a tiny smile. Erwin manouvered him out of the room, then out of the studio, and finally into a car.

"The driver knows where you have to go. Stay safe, Levi. Call me if something happens, okay?"

"Yeah."

Levi took a three-hour nap. Panic attacks were exhausting, and the minutes he spent sitting in absolute silence whilst Eren made sure he didn't fall over drained him. When he woke up, he was still alone, but the apartment smelled like food. Still tired, he shuffled to the kitchen, wrapped in a fluffy bathrobe. On his way, he glanced into the mirror in the living room, and sighed when he saw that his dark circles had gotten worse again. Great. In the kitchen stood a pot with spaghetti, multiple sauces, and a note leaning against one of said sauces. It read, in perfect English:

_Eren told me to inform you that he'll be out until around 1AM. He made some noodles for you, and there's pizza in the freezer. He also told me to tell you that you should rest a lot, drink tea, and relax. He bought some bath oils for you._  
 _\- Armin Arlert._

Levi smiled. He usually hated being taken care of, but he was actually enjoying Eren's concern for him. Setting the note down on the counter, he glanced at the table to see that it was already set. A quiet laugh left his lips as he served himself the spaghetti with some pesto, enjoying the taste of it.

After the food and bath, he felt a lot more refreshed and energized. Levi remembered the conversation he had with Eren the other day, and sat down on the couch with his laptop, skype-calling his cousin.

"Hey, Levi!" She waved at the camera.

"Why the hell do you know my co-actor?"

Mikasa raised her eyebrows, then burst out laughing. "Oh my God. You're the cute guy Eren's told me about?"

"I'm the... the what?" He blinked a few times.

"This explains everything... Jesus Christ, you two are going to be in a movie that's further in the closet than Erwin used to be."

If Levi had been drinking something at that moment, he would've spat it back out again. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"He sent me the script. Granted, I didn't understand the German, but from the directions and the English lines it looks to me like it's a supposed friendship that's actually... well, really really gay."

"Look, there's no way..." Levi trailed off, suddenly realizing something. "What do you mean, you didn't understand the German?"

Mikasa rolled her eyes. "I don't speak German."

"Then how do you... how do you and Eren even talk to each other?"

"Oh." She was quiet for a few moments. "Well... we met here in the States, and... his English is perfect?"

"What?!"

"He told me he thought it was cute how you spoke German, so he... pretended not to speak English."

Suddenly, everything made sense. Eren's reactions to Levi's conversation with Isabel and Farlan. The conversations the younger had with Erwin that Levi never heard, only saw at times. The "breathe with me".

"That fuckface."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, the revelation.
> 
> Word count: 1586 - I'm slowly improving.
> 
> Translations: "Du kennst sie?" - "You know her?". "Wie?" - "How?". "Sie ist meine beste Freundin. Woher kennst du sie?" - "She's my best friends. How come you know her?". "Sie ist meine Kusine" - "She is my cousin". "Heilige Scheiße" - "Holy shit". "Ich weiß" - "I know".
> 
> As always, feel free to leave a suggestion or feedback in the comments!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren fucked up big time. Levi almost murders him. Tea and hugs apparently help in all situations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More people are introduced in this chapter! The darlings Connie, Sasha, and Jean (though Jean is only mentioned). Be prepared for lots of talking and Armin and Erwin laughing at Ereri.

When Eren returned to the apartment at 1AM, Levi sat on a chair, a seemingly emotionless expression on his face.

"Oh, hallo," the younger said cheerfully.

"Don't fuck with me. I talked to Mikasa."

Eren's face fell. "She told you?"

"Of course she did. Unlike you, she's not an asshole." Levi crossed his legs. "Why did you do it?"

"I was wondering if I should be honest with you, but... I like it when you speak German."

"Yeah, well, I don't. I'm absolute fucking crap at it, and all I did was embarrass myself in front of you and everyone else. Let me guess, no one but me thought you didn't speak English?"

The brunette looked down. It hadn't occured to him that Levi would feel this way. He thought the older would pass it off as a joke, though in retrospect that was pretty far-fetched. "I'm sorry."

"If you would've told me I'd be fine. Finding it out from someone else who was in on the joke was fucking shitty." Levi took a long breath and stood up. "I won't act differently around you on set. But don't think for even a second that we'll continue being friends." Without looking back, he walked to his room, appearing calmer than he actually was.

Eren didn't move until Levi was gone. He sat down on the couch and buried his face in his hands. "I'm a fucking idiot," he groaned. Why on earth had he thought it was a good idea?

A few seconds later, his phone rang. When he picked it up, club music droaned in his ear. "Yoooo Jäger!"

"Jesus, Connie. I thought you guys left."

"Why would we leave when there's a fucking party!" Connie screamed. "Jean started stripping a minute ago and he's almost down to his boxers!"

The actor made a face. "Ew." He really didn't want to know all the details.

"And dude, guess who's getting some action tonight!"

"Not you?"

Connie laughed. It almost gave Eren a migraine. "What about you, dude? You getting any tonight?"

"As if." Eren snorted. "I managed to piss off my colleague slash roommate, so all I'm getting tonight is the cold shoulder."

"Go give him a hug, dude!" a different voice yelled.

"Sasha, are you high or something? Why the fuck would a hug help?"

"Hugs always help! You should hug everyone all the time!"

"I'm hanging up." Before his friends could protest, Eren ended the call. A hug. What would happen if he were to hug Levi?

Maybe it was the alcohol he'd drank before coming here, maybe it was Sasha's drunken wisdom, but the actor stood up and knocked on Levi's door.

"No," came the response. "Fuck off."

"Fine, then I'll say it from here. If I were to give you a hug now, would it help?"

"Not a fucking bit."

Levi remained in a shitty mood during fight class. He almost murdered Eren at least three times, which their instructor complimented for looking so real. Erwin was given a similar treatment, with glares being thrown at him every two seconds. Armin remained unharmed.

"Okay, take a break," their instructor, Keith Shadis, said after fourty-five minutes of grueling training. He left the room to discuss their progress with the director.  
Eren collapsed on the floor. "How are you so good at this?" He glanced up at Levi who shrugged.

"The movements are easy. Not actually knocking your teeth out is difficult."

"Levi!" Erwin crossed his arms.

"What? You were in on it too, the whole fucking time. It's absolute bullshit." Levi grabbed his towel and ran it down his face.

"Don't take it out on your practices, okay? At least pretend to be nice for now so that we can start filming next week."

"Fine." He gave Eren a glance. "I'll show you."

The two of them stood across from each other. Levi ordered Eren to attack first and got in the position to defend himself, all of his muscles tensed up. Eren took a step towards him and swung his fist. The older actor blocked it easily and pulled the brunette to the side, extending his leg and effectively tripping him. Eren would've hit the ground if Levi had let go of his arm.

"Jesus Christ," the younger breathed. "You're fucking strong."

Levi almost grinned. "Thanks." He let Eren get back on his feet. "I'll attack you this time. Block my punch and get me on the ground, okay?"

"I can do that." Eren nodded and positioned himself.

He caught the punch easily, but didn't get the timing right for the pull and trip. Instead, he pressed his arms to the inside of Levi's and pushed him down by his shoulders. He forgot to hold the older actor, though, and Levi grabbed onto him in an attempt to steady himself. In the end, they tumbled to the floor together, cueing Armin's snickering and Erwin's laughter.

Levi convinced himself the heat on his face was anger, not a blush, and shoved the brunette off. "You have to make sure I don't actually get hurt, asshole!"

Armin's snickering changed to howling laughter at Eren's confused expression.

"O-oh my God, I'm so sorry." Eren quickly stood up and held out his hand. Levi smacked it away and got up himself.

"You better be fucking sorry, kid."

Erwin stood between them before an actual fight could break out. The expression on the black haired man's face made it clear that he wouldn't mind punching Eren. "You two should go get yourselves cleaned up. I'll tell Keith that you're done for the day, alright? Go back to your apartment and try not to murder each other."

"Fine," Levi hissed and stomped out of the room. Eren followed, albeit less angry.

After a long, scalding shower, Levi felt a lot more relaxed. Wearing his bathrobe, he went to the kitchen, only to stop when he saw Eren making some tea.

"I figured you might want some, so..."

"I thought I made it clear that we are not friends."

Eren sighed. "Yes, you made that very clear. But I happen to care about you, so here. Have some tea."

"Why on earth do you care about me?" Levi sat down. His gray eyes never left the younger actor.

"I'm not sure." Eren poured the hot water into the mugs. "Maybe because you aren't really as emotionless as you pretend you are. I heard a lot about you before we met. Everyone always told me to be wary of you because you're a sociopath or something. They said you were completely heartless and you wouldn't give a damn what I was thinking or how I was feeling."

"They're right, I don't."

"But you do," Eren continued, as if Levi hadn't said anything. "You do care about my feelings. Otherwise you wouldn't have bothered to learn German. And maybe that's why I didn't want to tell you I speak English. Because then I would've been just another boring co-actor, but because you had to put in an effort for us to understand each other, you actually talked to me. Maybe I like listening to your grammatically incorrect sentences. Because it shows that you care."

Levi was silent for a few moments. He watched as Eren threw away the tea bags and put the mugs on the table. "It was annoying. Not being able to understand you or speak to you was annoying as fuck." The brunette was about to say something, but Levi held up his hand. "You're right. I had to put in an effort, and that's why we spoke. And when it started to get easier, it was actually fun to talk to you. I liked hanging out with you. That's why it fucking hurt to find out it was all a joke."

"Us hanging out wasn't a joke, Levi. I genuinely wanted to spend time with you, and if speaking German was the only way to do it..."

"The language doesn't matter. You're... you're an interesting person. Even if you would've spoken English from the beginning, we'd go shopping and to the restaurant and you could've taught me German anyways."

Eren looked down at his tea. "I'm sorry. Can we still... you know, be friends?"

"If you insist." A small smile tugged at the corner of Levi's lips and Eren beamed. "Oh, but I have one rule. No hugs."

"But Sasha said..." Eren pouted.

Levi shook his head. "No hugs."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word count: 1409 (just when I thought I was improving...)
> 
> Thank you so much for the kudos, bookmarks, and comments. It makes me incredibly happy to see how many of you enjoy this story <3 I love all of you


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Falling asleep in Levi's arms after crying his eyes out isn't exactly Eren's idea of a perfect evening. Not that he minds it, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that I haven't updated in a bit, but I usually write during English class and I didn't have that for a while.
> 
> But holy shit, the kudos! The comments! The bookmarks! You guys are amazing, and thank you so much to all of you for supporting me through the unplanned shitstorm that is this fic <3 I love you so much

Eren was determined to break Levi's anti-hugging law. The older actor was still somewhat pissed about the whole language thing, and it was near impossible to get anywhere close to him. When filming started, however, the opportunities grew.

They were in their costumes on set, with their makeup perfectly applied and the lights and camera ready. The scene they were filming now was set during one of the chase scenes, in which Levi and Eren's characters were hiding from the murder cult. The two of them were crouched behind a few boxes and looking around, trying to see if anyone was there.

"I see something," Levi hissed, perfectly in character.

Eren bit back a grin and pressed close to the other, looking over his shoulder. "Where?"

"Cut!" the director yelled. "Mr. Jäger, that was a bit too close. You two are friends, not more."

"Of course," the brunette replied with a sing-song voice. "Sorry."

Levi glared.

Armin gave Eren a lecture that evening. "The movie's already full of homoerotic subtext, you don't need to make it more obvious," he said with a stern voice.

"If you want to get in Levi's pants, that is not gonna help you," Erwin added, his neutral expression changing to one of pure amusement when Eren choked on his own spit.

"That's not... I just want to hug him!"

"Why?" Armin tilted his head.

"Because Sasha told me to!"

"... are you actually kidding me."

"What, she's usually right about these things." Eren pouted. "Besides, Levi told me not to hug him, so I'm gonna do it."

"You're such a little shit," Erwin laughed. "Good luck with Levi."

"Where do you two always go to after filming? You never hang out with us."

"Well..." Armin coughed a bit. "Er wohnt bei mir. Weil seine Wohnung scheiße ist."

"You live together?" Eren's jaw dropped. "Why wasn't I informed of this? When is the wedding? Am I invited? Armin, I better be your best man."

"Eren!"

Erwin grinned and rested his arm on Armin's shoulder. "Oh no, we're going to elope."

Eren almost died laughing.

Once he was back at the apartment, Eren decided to set his next plan into action. He stood in front of the door with his arms open, knowing Levi would come back soon from the note he'd left on the coffee table.

When Levi did return, he stopped in the doorway. "What the fuck, Jäger."

"Oh, come on! Just one hug. A tiny one. A teeny weeny hug."

"No." Levi shoved him aside roughly and walked into the kitchen. "I'm cooking tonight."

"Let's watch a movie or something." Eren plopped down in front of the tv and looked through the dvds.

"Sure."

"Any preferred genres?"

"Let's go with horror." Levi began chopping up vegetables.

"Whoo!"

The black-haired man laughed. "You sound like a five-year-old."

"Would you let a five-year-old watch horror movies?" Eren slid the dvd in and sat down on the couch, wrapping a fluffy blanket around himself.

"Five-year-olds are hardcore, you have no idea." The water boiled and Levi added the powder, vegetables, and some chicken as well. "How patient are you?"

"Not very."

"Too bad, I'm not done yet."

"Oh come on," Eren whined. "You can let it cook while we watch a bit already."

"Nope, I can't."

"Why are you always so particular about everything? Loosen up."

Levi sighed and checked that everything was working properly before coming to the living room. "Fine. But I'm setting myself a timer." He sat down next to Eren and focused on the TV.

Eren pressed play and slowly placed half of the blanket on top of Levi, effectively bringing them closer together.

"What do you think you're doing?" the older actor asked without looking away from the movie.

"Helping you get comfy."

"May I ask why?"

"Because you always look like you have a stick up your ass." Eren rested his head on Levi's shoulder, only to get shoved off.

They sat in silence, save for the occasional screaming and stabbing in the movie. Neither of them flinched at any of the scary parts, and eventually Levi stood up to finish the soup. Eren stayed and watched as the daughter mourned the death of her parents. It was a very emotional scene compared to most horror movies which focused less on the psychological impacts of everyone getting murdered. He felt tears come to his eyes but did his best to stop them from falling.

When Levi came back, though, his eyes were red and the tears ran down his cheeks.

"Hey..." The black-haired man quickly set down the tablet with the soup and sat down next to Eren. "Hey, what's wrong?"

The brunette shook his head. "N-nothing."

"You're crying."

"M-movie's... sad."

Levi glanced at the screen and paused it. "Is that the only reason?"

Eren hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.

"I won't make you tell me," the older said softly.

The fact that someone cared only made Eren cry more. He hated it when people were nice to him in situations like this, it was always easier if they left him alone. A loud sob escaped his lips when he felt Levi's arms around him. He buried his head in the American actor's shoulder and continued crying.

When Eren woke up, it was 4AM. His eyes burned and he felt the dried tears on his skin. His focus wasn't on that, however. Levi's arms were warm around him and he felt the other actor's nose buried in his hair. Eren couldn't help but smile. They were still on the couch, Eren laying on top of Levi, a situation that could look very compromising to others. To them, however, there was nothing sexual about it. Levi was still asleep. Eren carefully stood up and cleaned up the now cold soup, putting the rest of it in the fridge for later.

"Eren?" a hoarse voice asked.

"Here." He exited the kitchen and watched as Levi stood up and stretched.

"What time is it?"

"4AM."

Levi groaned. "Wonderful. Go to bed."

"That sounds a bit dry compared to earlier."

"Do you want me to hold your hand or something?"

"Yes." Eren walked up to his co-actor and took his hand gently, lacing their fingers together. "Hold me again."

Something changed in Levi's features. He almost looked vulnerable for a few seconds before going back to his usual stoic expression and pushing Eren away. "You're a big boy, you can handle it. Scream if you need me." With that, he went to his bedroom.

Determined, Eren grabbed his phone and called a familiar number.

"What?" a gruff voice asked.

"Erwin, I need your help. I think I might have a thing for Levi."

"Ugh, not again. What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to help me get him to like me."

"Oh, he already does. He's just really crap at showing that he cares."

Eren bit his lip. "But... he did show it."

There were a few moments of silence before Erwin almost whispered, "How?"

"I... we were watching a horror movie and this girl lost her parents, and... well, so did I." He felt himself choke up a little, but continued nevertheless. "And I broke down and Levi saw and he hugged me and we fell asleep like that."

"Holy fuck."

"Yeah."

"I... wow. I didn't expect that. He definitely likes you, but he's weird about those things. He doesn't like confessing his feelings for people early on, and you guys really don't know each other that well. You've seen his panic attack and he's seen you cry, but I don't know if that's enough for him."

"So what can I do?"

"I'm gonna let my magical manager powers do the job for you. You two are getting a day off tomorrow and then you're gonna take him somewhere and talk."

"I can do that."

"Who's getting a day off?" Eren heard a quiet voice that seemingly came from someone next to Erwin. Someone...

"Is that Armin?"

"... yes."

"He's next to you?"

"Also yes."

"You two had sex, didn't you."

"No! No, we just... Armin doesn't have a guest bedroom."

"Yes he does, I've slept there before." Eren laughed. "Don't try to hide these things from me, I'm his best friend."

"I promise we didn't have sex."

"He thinks we have sex?" Armin asked in disbelief.

"Yeah." There was some rustling as Erwin handed the phone to the other manager.

"Eren, we didn't sleep together. Well, we did, but not like that."

A wide grin appeared on the actor's lips. "So you two are dating now?"

"Sort of..."

"Cute. Have fun and use protection and lube and all that jazz. He probably has a huge dick."

Armin choked. "Eren!"

"Good night, darlings!" Eren sang and hung up. Sleeping together... with a a devious smile, he made his way to Levi's bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word count: 1482
> 
> Translations: "Er wohnt bei mir. Weil seine Wohnung scheiße ist." - "He lives with me. Because his apartment is shit."
> 
> As always, suggestions for characters and couples are very much appreciated <3


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren shows Levi the one place he usually prefers to keep to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts off a lot less happy than all the other ones, but the lame jokes return by the end.
> 
> The place where Eren takes Levi is an actual place that I visit a lot, since my grandparents used to live in that village.
> 
> Apologies for not updating sooner ;; I'll improve on that someday.

Eren awoke feeling cold. He was alone on Levi's bed, the blanket on the floor next to him. Levi was nowhere to be seen. A sudden feeling of fear rushed through him and he quickly got up, ignoring how dizzy that made him. He stumbled into the living room, relief washing over him when he noticed Levi sitting on the couch.

"You scared me, I thought you'd left."

Levi's expression was emotionless. "Why did you come to my room last night?"

"I wanted to."

"Why?"

"I..." Eren bit his lip and looked down at his feet.

"I don't have time for your obnoxious jokes. I don't care how funny you think it is to annoy me. If you're going to keep doing this, I'll stop filming and you can find yourself another coactor."

"No!" Eren almost shouted. "No, Levi, don't do this to me. The hugging thing... yes, at first that was a challenge. I wanted to see if and how I could get through to you. But after last night... after you held me... I felt safe with you. I don't think I told you, but the reason I freaked out is that I lost my parents. And seeing this little girl cry over the loss of hers... it brought back memories I tried hard to ignore. So I called Erwin last night... he gave us the day off. I have something planned for us."

Levi rolled his eyes and stood up. "You do realize this is your last chance." It wasn't a question.

"I know. And that's why I chose to show you a place only Armin and Mikasa know."

"Breakfast first."

They ate silently. Eren kept glancing over at his co-actor, but the older man was completely focused on the texture of his plate. It was hard for the brunette to understand why they were suddenly back to this. He hadn't done anything to hurt Levi, had he? All he'd done was try to get closer, try to be friends.

After breakfast, Eren drove Levi through Munich. Neither of them said anything, though Eren was starting to get desperate for some sort of communication.

Only when they reached the countryside did Levi speak. "Where are we going?"

"Riederau."

"What on earth is that?"

"It's a village. I lived there for a while when I was small," Eren explained.

"I see." Levi went back to being quiet. He didn't understand why they were going there, out of all places. Did Eren trust him that much? Enough to show him the places of his childhood? It was a slightly cliché gesture, but Levi couldn't help but feel special somehow. Especially after learning that only Mikasa and Armin had seen this place before.

Eren drove them through a village, not speaking a word. Levi furrowed his eyebrows. Was this the place? Then why wasn't Eren telling him anecdotes about his life here? Where did the hyperactive part of him go?

Eventually, they parked by the woods. Levi's confusion grew, but he quietly followed Eren to wherever they were going. It was only when they went through the gate that Levi realized where they were.

It was a graveyard.

"Eren..."

The younger man didn't answer. He led Levi through the rows until they were in one of the four corners of the graveyard. It was surrounded by a dark green hedge that smelled like forest.

"I'd like to introduce you to someone." Eren gestured to the metal cross. It was an intricate piece, black with golden roses, thorned vines woven around the plate in the middle. It read:

Karla Jäger - 1968 - 2007  
Grisha Jäger - 1963 - 2007

Levi slowly kneeled down. His eyes travelled over the small flowerbed that was Eren's parents' grave. "It's an honor to meet you," he whispered. "I promise to take good care of your son."

Eren fell onto his knees next to him, tears in his beautiful eyes. "Thank you, Levi," he said so quietly that it was almost impossible to hear.

"How old were you when they died?"

"Twelve. It's a long time ago, but..."

"Some wounds never heal," Levi finished.

Eren nodded.

"Why are you trusting me with this? Why me?"

It took a long time for Eren to answer. "You helped me. I don't know how, but you comforted me... you took care of me. And even before that, you were growing more and more important to me every day. I don't know why, but you mean a lot to me... even though we don't know each other that well yet. I still feel like we've been friends for years. I feel comfortable with you."

They continued sitting there, talking in hushed tones about their pasts and families, Levi's arms holding Eren as if to protect him.

When they returned home, something had changed. They were no longer just co-actors, no longer just people who lived together. They were closer now, more than that. It was something that neither of them could quite grasp, yet both of them knew.

That night they fell asleep on the couch, resting against each other, the movie and french fries long forgotten.

Erwin and Armin found them the next morning. Hiding their laughter, they took a few pictures and sent them to Mikasa who replied with "i knew it. i fucking knew it. tell eren that i told him so".

"Mikasa told you so!" Armin yelled, causing both actors to fall off the couch.

"W-what?" Eren stuttered, blushing furiously.

"Mikasa said she told you so," his best friend repeated, albeit a little less loud this time.

"Since when do you cuddle, Levi?" Erwin raised one of his impressive eyebrows and smirked.

Levi scowled, though he looked less intimidating and more like a spoiled child. "Shut the fuck up."

"I take it my advice worked, then."

"What advice?"

"Nothing." Erwin smiled innocently.

Eren coughed and stood up. "Why are you guys here?"

"You're filming a movie, remember? No more free time from now on, the director's already pissed enough."

Armin crossed his arms with a small smirk. "You have an hour to get ready. Try not to have sex on set, okay?"

This comment resulted in another coughing fit on Eren's part and an annoyed huff on Levi's. The managers laughed some more before finally leaving, not without Levi screeching something about privacy.

"You're hot when you're angry."

"Jäger!" Levi glared and stomped off to the bathroom. He felt a bit confused about what on earth his relationship with Eren was now. They were close, definitely, closer than he'd been with a lot of people even though they only met a few... weeks ago? Days? Levi'd lost track of time.

He came back to the living room wearing fresh clothes, his hair wet from the shower. "I think you broke me," he stated simply.

Eren looked up from his tablet. "What?"

"When we spend time together, I completely forget what day or time or whatever it is. It's like we're in this endless moment. I don't even remember when we met... I mean, how long ago and stuff. It kinda feels like you've always been there."

The younger stared for a bit before standing up. It felt like he was moving in slow motion, yet it was all fast enough for Levi to wonder when exactly Eren had backed him up against the wall, breath hitting off his lips, provoking Levi to lean in and close the last gap. Eren's lips were rough and chapped, yet they tasted sweet and intoxicating, a flavor Levi began to crave. It was addicting, and once again time stood still.

Neither of them knew when Levi's legs ended up around Eren's waist, fingers desperately running through wet hair and over soft skin.

Neither of them paid attention when a phone rang in the distance, too focused on breathing whenever they had the chance, only to claim the other's lips immediately after.

Somehow they managed to pull apart, faces flushed. Eren couldn't find his voice and Levi had nothing to say. They remained completely quiet, but the silence was different from all the others. There was no anger, no frustration, no sadness or grief. It was simply the need to be with each other, whether they spoke or not.

They arrived late. Armin giggled and Erwin made a few innuendos that made Eren blush so hard Levi couldn't help but laugh along. Everything felt like it was falling into place. There were no doubts that they were attracted to each other, and Eren figured they'd find out how they felt sooner or later. Levi worried about that, but one look at his co-actor told him that it was something he could think about later.

The director complained about their tardiness, but shut up the second they began acting. Their chemistry was perfect, even though the so-called "homoerotic subtext" lost the subtext part.

Erwin and Armin came over for dinner that evening. They ordered Thai food and sat around the TV, talking and watching shows, and trying to get Levi and Erwin to say a few German tongue twisters (they failed miserably).

Before leaving, Armin declared, "The director's making some changes in the script. You two are gonna be lovers."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 1541
> 
> Thank you so much for supporting me in this wonderful shitstorm that is this fic <3 I love and appreciate all of you. As always, feel free to comment suggestions~


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi wants to quit. Eren is okay with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I haven't updated in like a month, I'm so sorry. My computer's been more or less broken and kept crashing and I had to re-write this chapter like three times.
> 
> I've done a time skip because I have no idea how to write filming scenes (and I've had no real motivation to), but I'm considering writing a few one-shots once I'm done with the story that focus on things I skipped.

"How do you think the public's gonna take this?" Erwin was spread out on Levi and Eren's couch. Armin sipped his coffee and leaned against the taller man as best as he could - the position was slightly uncomfortable.

"They're gonna have to deal with it," Levi said calmly. He was busy chatting with Isabel and Farlan, but still paid attention to what the other three were talking about.

Eren sat on the floor - after much protest, of course. "I doubt that my fans are going to be upset. Most of them were shipping us anyways. You have no idea what kind of stuff they sent me... the fanfics they wrote are insane."

Erwin laughed. "I read some of them. Do you guys really do all that in bed?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"What about your fans, Levi?" Armin turned to the older man.

There were a few moments of silence. "They know I prefer to keep to myself. They respect it."

Erwin furrowed his eyebrows but stayed quiet. He knew there was something Levi was hiding from the others, but he'd never expose his friend without consent. Eventually, Eren and Armin were talking about something in scarily fast German, and he walked over to the actor.

"Levi, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." The response was automatic, monotone.

"Okay, there's definitely something wrong." Erwin sat down on the chair next to Levi and crossed his legs. "I'm not leaving until you tell me."

Levi groaned and closed his laptop. He glanced at Eren to make sure the younger wasn't listening before talking in a quiet voice, "I want to stop."

"Stop what?"

"This. Being an actor. I want to stop."

"Levi..."

"Tons of actors stop after a few successful movies. I don't have to be like Meryl Streep and star in movies for the rest of my life."

"But why?" Erwin enjoyed being Levi's manager, even though the short man did have his tempers. "What am I gonna do?"

"I don't know. I just... I can't continue this. I love acting, yes, it's my passion and my dream. But I can't... I can't take the pressure. Do you know how many panic attacks I've had during these past weeks? I stopped counting after a while."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" They were starting to get too loud. Eren and Armin looked at them. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Because I fucking hate them. They terrify me more than anything else, Erwin, and I hate letting people know about them. I'm fucking weak, alright?! I can't handle anything without breaking down, that's a fucking fact!" Levi was standing now, and he was shaking. His small body was tensed up, like he would run away the second one of them moved or made a sound.

Silence fell upon the room.

A few seconds later, Levi left.

He came back that evening. Erwin and Armin were gone, and Eren had called and texted him, becoming more and more fearful every second. When Levi finally showed up at the door, they hugged for minutes.

"Don't ever do that again. I can't lose you. I absolutely refuse to lose you, ever," the brunette whispered into Levi's hair. Tears fell from his beautiful eyes, and the older actor's heart broke a bit.

"You're never going to lose me. It was... I hate myself for being so weak..."

Eren shook his head. "You're not weak, Levi. You were incredibly strong when I broke down, when I took you to see my parents. There are things that trigger you, but you are not weak."

For the first time in a while, Levi's tears weren't because of one of his attacks. "Did you hear what I said to Erwin? I'm gonna stop acting."

"What?" Eren pulled back in surprise. "But it makes you so happy..."

"It's too stressful. I can't be happy in an environment like this."

Eren was quiet for a few moments before smiling and picking Levi up, holding him carefully. "Do whatever you want, okay? I'll always support you. Unless you become a murderer or a douche like one of my friends."

"One of your friends is a murderer?" Levi raised his eyebrows, amused.

"Nah, but he's a real douche. He's from France and man, you can feel the French when you see him."

"Do German people always talk shit about France?"

"Mostly." Eren grinned and began to walk. "I mainly talk shit about him, though."

"What's his name?"

"Jean. Most obnoxious guy you'll ever meet."

"Maybe you should introduce us... wait, what are you doing?"

Eren set Levi down on his bed, his grin only growing. "We can talk about Jean later. For now, we have more important things to focus on."

It was probably a terrible idea to introduce Levi to his friends. They were all more or less fluent in English, which made the conversation easier, but Connie really had a tendency to ask the wrong questions - usually backed up by Sasha. The two of them had been friends since kindergarten and started dating back in elementary school. No one was surprised that they essentially were the same person by now.

Jean wanted to know some stuff about Mikasa which Levi answered at first, only to realize what a giant crush Kirschtein had on his cousin. He proceeded to text Mikasa who responded with "nah you can tell him stuff he's super awkward and kinda adorable sometimes maybe".

Krista and Ymir weren't there, they were in Turkey to visit Ymir's parents. Eren remarked that that was actually pretty good, considering that Ymir was approximately twice as tall as Levi. Levi proceeded to punch him. Lightly.

The Kickass Trio, as they were called, were partially quiet. Berthold was shy as always, Annie had an annoyed an expression that rivaled Levi's. Reiner was the most talkative of the three of them, making sexual innuendos wherever he could. To Eren's surprise, Levi apparently really loved shitty jokes - he was practically snorting with laughter. Eren made sure to take a few videos.

When he showed them to Erwin later on, the tall man immediately sent them to someone named Hanji. Seconds later, Levi was shouting about what a terrible boyfriend Eren was and how Erwin was an even worse friend and "why do I even still hang out with you I hate both of you".

"Who's Hanji?"

"Hanji's an old friend. They can be very annoying at times, but in the best way." Erwin grinned. "They're amazing at pissing Levi off."

"I need to meet them right now."

"Hell no." Levi came out of his room. "I will not let Hanji turn you into one of their little minions. Your ass is too cute for that."

"Aw, how romantic."

The manager reached out and patted Levi's head, earning a glare. "He's so perfect for you, Lev."

"Don't call me that."

Eren hugged his boyfriend. "Only I can call him Lev."

"No, baby, no. Not even you can call me Lev." Eren pouted. Levi kissed him.

"I'm gonna leave you two alone," Erwin said, glancing down at his phone. "Armin needs my help at the meeting. People are being dicks about you two."

"Are you sure he doesn't need your help somewhere else, Blondie?"

"Levi!" Eren mocked offense. "How dare you speak about my best friend having sex?!"

Erwin snorted and left.

"So... let's get serious."

Levi raised his eyebrows. "Serious?"

"Yes. You want to quit. That's... that's a big step, Levi. I definitely support you, but you need to plan it all out. What is Erwin gonna do? What are  _you_ gonna do? You can't just... stop without knowing what's going to happen next."

"Acting is all I know," the older man said quietly. "I've never done anything else. Even before I did movies, I worked as an actor in a theater in my home town."

"No hobbies?"

"I don't think cleaning counts."

There was a small smile on Eren's lips as he cupped his boyfriend's cheek. "Did I ever tell you that I love you?"

Levi froze. They'd told each other their affection before, but this? "Never," he whispered.

"Well, I do. I love you."

The black-haired actor closed his eyes and leaned forwards until his forehead hit Eren's chest. "I love you too, kid. I really do."

They had one of their many movie nights again, both couples spread out on and near the couch. Eren threw popcorn against the screen and yelled at the (very, very oblivious) protagonist whenever he fucked something up. Armin kept muttering, "Does he realize he's destroying the entire city? He doesn't have to destroy the entire city!" and Levi and Erwin exchanged amused glances.

The doorbell rang.

Armin was the closest to the door and got shoved off the couch. With an eyeroll, he opened the door. "Mikasa!"

"Armin, darling!"

The other three men scrambled to get off the couch and tackle-hug Mikasa who gave them all an amused grin.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Eren asked once they were inside.

"Surprise visit. I got a few e-mails from Jean telling me how amazing yet terrifying my dear cousin is." She elbowed Levi, who returned the gesture.

Armin rested his head on Erwin's shoulder. "Where are you staying?"

"Annie's place. Her idea."

"Why did you never tell me you were friends with all these people? It would've been nice to know." Levi tugged on Mikasa's scarf. "You also never told me who got you this."

"True, I should've done that. Then you and Eren would've gotten together much earlier... and you wouldn't have had a stick up your ass for a few years."

"Oh, shut up."

Eren laughed and gave Levi a kiss.

"Aw, my cute homos."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word count: 1623
> 
> I really should relocate this story again... literally all they do is sit around on their couch. That's all I do, but I feel like I should give these characters more of a life than I have.
> 
> Also, "my homos" is a loving term I use with many of my friends.
> 
> As always, thank you so much to everyone who's supporting me, and suggestions are highly appreciated!


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